When coffee is roasted, do you think location of the roasterie affects the flavor?

Since the taste (as far as I’ve learned) is affected by the temperature and duration of the roast (and the variety of bean, of course), perhaps they taste different because different roasters roast different beans at different temps and for different lengths of time.

The time of roasting, the temperature of the roasting, the ambient humidity, the freshness of the beans are all things that have a bearing on taste.

I prefer to roast my own coffee, in small batches. That has been the best solution for me. I rely on equipment and coffee from here

@pdworkin Sounds like fun. I think I’ll get some green beans and give the Wok or skillet method a try.

Oh man, I had some coffee lately from a roaster just an hour north of Pittsburgh, brewed all old-school in a filter-pot with boiling water poured over it.

Apparently this place, Beaver Falls Cafe, actually imports their beans directly from a single independent coffee farm in Guatemala, and roasts them here.

@pdworkin thanks for the link, I have found a place that confirms my suspicions about which coffee is the best, and as I suspected, it is not JBM.

JBM is rare and difficult to find in great supply; that does not make it a superior coffee.

The differences in how often the roaster is cleaned, and what cleaning product was used, plus what else it is used for, plus the time of day and the air quality/temperature/barometric pressure add in how the beans have been stored and how fresh they are. There are so many variables, it is impossible to get the same roast out of the same roaster on two different days.

@pdworkin do you recommend a specific roaster? Bean? For beginners…I’ve never attempted roasting my own beans, however, I find it hard to find truely freash beans in my area. I would love to try it! Thanks for the link.

Taste is such an individual thing. I suggest you read the cupping reviews on the site, and try a few samples. I use an air-roaster that they no longer seem to offer; no doubt the technology has improved since I bought mine 8 or 10 years ago.

So, a little off-topic, but I thought some independent roast aficionados might find this interesting/useful.